Abstract

The knowledge of electronic and local structures is a fundamental step towards understanding the properties of ferroelectric ceramics. X-rayabsorption near-edge structure(XANES) of Pb1−xLaxZr0.40Ti0.60O3ferroelectric samples was measured in order to know how the local order and electronic structure are related to their ferroelectric property, which was tailored by the substitution of lead by lanthanum atoms. The analysis of XANES spectra collected at Ti K- and L-edges XANES showed that the substitution of Pb by La leads to a decrement of local distortion around Ti atoms on the TiO6 octahedron. The analysis of O K-edge XANES spectra showed that the hybridization between O 2p and Pb 6sp states is related to the displacement of Ti atoms in the TiO6 octahedra. Based on these results, it is possible to determine that the degree of ferroelectricity in these samples and the manifestation of relaxor behavior are directly related to the weakening of O 2p and Pb 6sp hybridization.

Received 01 December 2011Accepted 21 April 2012Published online 25 May 2012

Acknowledgments:

The authors are grateful to Dr. M. I. B. Bernardi for ICP measurements and to FAPESP and Capes Brazilian funding agencies. Research partially carried out at National Laboratory of Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Brazil, and at Canadian Light Source (CLS), Canada.